In 1993 I spoke with a Swedish
engineer who was traveling the world visiting fire stations to share his
experiences in Chernobyl. His slides and commentary were sobering and
heartbreaking.
There are no comments I can make to describe the depth of despair to which
you have enlightened me and whoever sees this documentary. I am ashamed
that I had forgotten my engineer friend's lesson in ‘93. Thank you
for bringing me back.
Emory Kendrick
Assistant Fire Chief (Ret)
Orlando Fire Dept.
Orlando, Florida, USA
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Some years back, I recall seeing
a feature on PBS dealing with the Chernobyl aftermath. The clips of the
birth defects common in the area after the disaster still rank among the
most disturbing images I have ever encountered. I happened upon this feature
in the middle of the night, somehow awoken from sleep. I couldn’t
get back to sleep for at least an hour afterward, and was haunted for
days by what I had seen.
Perhaps the most disturbing element of all is that there have been no
significant reforms, so that such a disaster could easily occur again.
And the knowledge that people in these communities have no real place
to turn invokes a true sense of claustrophobia. Because of economic circumstances
they are forced to remain in these contaminated areas, and thus live through
generations upon generations of these horrendous effects. It truly breaks
my heart, and this photo essay brought all these feelings back anew. Surely,
something must be done.
Jeffrey Hubbard
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I just want to thank you for the job you’re doing. My father was
a scientist whose job it was to invent radiation measuring devices and
other ecological control devices. He died in November of heart attack
after radiation resulted in a heart mutation.
My regards and best wishes, you’re doing a great thing,
God help you,
Maria Yanina
Moscow, Russia
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I have just read excerpts from
the "Nuclear Nightmare" essay. At the time that the disaster
happened I read a lot about what had occurred, but most information got
lost in the political face leant to it.
Western countries were quick to point out the dangers of ignorant and
irresponsible use of nuclear energy as they called for the need to control
who had access to this “power.” Those already affected and
their progeny will continue to suffer for a long, long time. To think
that radiation is still evident in some areas gives a grim picture of
what to expect in the future.
Yet, in spite of this, we still find proliferation of nuclear activities
in various corners of the world. The excuses are varied - the need to
protect ourselves from neighboring enemies, the need to develop “scientific”
uses for nuclear power, the need for a cheaper source of energy as other
fuels become intolerably expensive.
My question to the world is:
Is it really necessary to continue these experiments (whether scientific
or military ) when you know it can only do harm in both the short and
the long term ?
Is it not possible to survive and grow with the use of natural resources
rather than experiment with this man-made source of "power"?
Do we really know where we heading, say 50 years from now ?
N. Iyengar
Mumbai, India
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I was very impressed by the
pictures. It's good that you are shaking people awake about this issue
of nuclear activity. I never thought it could be so destructive. There
is a company here in Almelo, Holland that makes uranium (Urenco) so I
hope a disaster such as Chernobyl will never recur. Keep up the good work
of waking people up!
Chris Pennings
Almelo, Holland
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I am truly horrified. I will
never ever complain about anything ever again! I don't know how these
people can even begin to pick up the pieces of their devastated lives
and carry on. I feel a sense of despair for these people beyond anything
I have felt in long, long time. No one should have to live through this
kind of hell. My heart and my soul weep for these humans and the human
condition that created the cause of all of their suffering. Something
has gone terribly wrong. Please send prayers for the suffering. Everywhere.
And never complain, always be thankful! Always! Peace to us all.
Tamara Evans
North Dakota, USA
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There is no end to the horror going on in the world. Yet, as an American
I know none of it. During bad times all I have to do is look at things
like this to know things could be much worse. Why would such an experiment
be performed with safe guards off? The Soviet Union had such a bad track
record with technology that they had no business operating nuclear power
plants in any case. The fact is that with the current oil situation we
may be forced back to using this dangerous technology. If this takes place
in the USA I hope it’s in the desert, underground and with the strictest
measures. I live in Kansas one hundred miles from the Wolfcreek nuclear
power plant. I think about it frequently and go nowhere near it but I’m
not far enough away as it is.
Terry Stangle
Kansas, USA
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Thank you for these pictures.
What insight to a horror that I know little of here in Regina, Saskatchewan,
Canada.
I spent 6 weeks in Estonia last summer and these pictures hit closer to
home because of my exposure to another group facing different post-Soviet
situations.
It is important to educate this generation and the ones yet to come in
the future. Thank you for giving a voice to the suffering. They otherwise
may never have had someone to tell their story to the rest of the world.
Tamara Knutson
Regina, Canada
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My heart weeps. May all those
people get the help that they need immediately and for as long as it is
necessary.
The nuclear age must end NOW. There are other ways to create renewable
energy that are better for the environment. Nuclear energy will never
be safe, efficient or an honest choice for keeping greenhouse gas down.
Uranium mines must be closed and all tailings and waste sites cleaned
up. The whole system including processing mills, refineries, reactors
and enriching plants, as well as nuclear weapons factories must be closed
down. Nuclear medicine must stop until 100% of radioactive waste materials
can be dealt with. We must put all research efforts into carefully making
all these sites as harmless as possible and finding a system to monitor
and guard all radiated sites forever.
Eleanor Knight
Saskatoon, Canada
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I am shocked beyond belief at the horror and misfortune that the people
of this region have had and continue to endure. As I paged through the
photographs I cried in empathy for them, and became intensely enraged
at the sheer injustice. Thanks to this photo essay, my perspective about
the world we live in and the severe need to reevaluate our energy solutions
has been realigned to seek a greater respect for our earth and our people.
These images will continue to haunt and sicken me until the day that every
person whose ill-thought decisions contributed to this disaster have been
tried and forced to live in the hell they created in their utter disregard
for humanity. Let them and their generations be the ones to look after
this mess for the next twenty thousand years.
David Kim
Los Angeles, USA
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Powerful………..
I think I am going to cry…….. Now I know why I hate governments………
They don’t care about anyone or anything. Just money and getting
rich.
Roger Evans
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I am a 15-year-old student
from Vancouver, British Columbia and I stumbled across your webpage recently.
I was greatly saddened when I learned of the incident from your site and
saw the powerful images of the affected victims. It is very hard to accept
how lucky I am to be able to live a normal life while others are suffering
with conditions that are extremely hard to imagine. The people who were
affected by this disaster were all innocent and did not deserve this.
I feel that people are very irresponsible and do not deal with safety
concerns and issues until after a terrible tragedy has happened. At the
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant many safety measures were unattended to
and broken, which led to the accident.
Earlier this year my science class helped raise money for the Jeans for
Genes foundation, which is an organization that helps to find cures for
genetic diseases. It frustrates me to not be able to do anything useful
in life right now but maybe in the future, I will definitely try. I think
more people should be aware of this and help fund for research for
genetic diseases.
Jacqueline Tsang
Vancouver, Canada
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* Note: Some responses have been edited for clarity and length
